Books Will Speak Plain
A Handbook for Identifying and Describing Historical Bindings
By (author) Julia Miller
Paperback (No longer our product)
(May 2026)
ISBN: 9781940965628
7.01 x 10 inches
Price: $175.00
On back order
This handbook combines an overview of the history of the codex with information about many of the materials and structures found on historical bindings.
Books Will Speak Plain is published at a time when the historical book is at risk of being ignored, put away and forgotten. This handbook combines an overview of the history of the codex with basic information about many of the materials and structures found on historical bindings. The book also includes description-survey guidelines and is supported by a variety of appendices. The text is illustrated by 390 images, and purchasers are able to access a .pdf via the Internet that reproduces all of the images printed in the book plus additional ones of them, as well as a multitude of other examples of bindings that further illustrate the history of binding structures. The book’s focus on non-luxury bindings adds depth to an often-neglected segment of bookbinding history. Preservation is at the heart of Books Will Speak Plain. We have already lost too many historical bindings because their importance was not understood and appreciated. This book is a call to action to urge custodians of historical book collections – public and private – to assess the physical character of the historical bindings in their care and record the changes that have accrued to those bindings during their passage through time. This award-winning book is a resource that has been used to recognize binding variations that have long been overlooked and to document such bindings for future scholars. Since its publication in 2010, librarians, cataloguers, bibliophiles, bookbinders, curators, private collectors, antiquarian booksellers, book-history scholars and conservators have found Books Will Speak Plain an invaluable reference.
Preface and Acknowledgments; Introduction. The Purpose of This Handbook; Chapter 1. The Early History of the Codex; Chapter 2. The Medieval Manuscript Book and Beyond; Chapter 3. 1450 to 1800: The Book Changes Radically; Chapter 4. The Book from 1800 to 1900; Chapter 5. Identifying Binding Materials and Applications; Chapter 6. Describing Historical Bindings: A Template for Action; Chapter 7. The Task Ahead and Conclusion; Appendix 1. Historical Bindings: Structure and Style Hierarchy; Appendix 2. Sample Survey Suggestions and Description Case Studies; Appendix 3. Stacks Maintenance; Glossary; bibliography and index.
- By (author) Julia Miller
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